It Seems to Stimulate Appetite

Watched Peace, Love and Misunderstanding with The 'Fugee last night. She really liked it. I would give it about 2.5 stars out of 5.

As I was about to get in my car, The 'Fugee asked You're not going swimming tomorrow are you? It was as if The 'Fugee were talking about promaja a.k.a. the dreaded draft that Bosnians fear. You need to protect yourself from promaja or you might get sick.

My swimming bag has been packed for a very long time -- since December. Yes, 'Fugee, I went swimming and, lest you think that I was alone, there was a mother with her infant in the pool. Also Jackie, the marathoner, joined me (in my roomy lane) at the 17 lap mark. Jackie had run a marathon this morning and her knee was bothering her. Jackie, who alleviates her knee tweak (after surgery for a torn meniscus) with swimming, said it was totally colder this morning.

Equate's Dove Version, *****

Went to yoga after swimming and the yoga session almost killed my swimming buzz. The population of the class had exploded. Plus, the room is oddly built so, with that many people, it gives off a claustrophobic vibe. The building was so packed it looked liked a shoe outlet and, as I got dressed, a Band-Aid attached itself to me, ewww. Guess I can't be Zen'd out after every yoga class but I would like to leave without sharing someone else's Band-Aid or the room being so crowded that people are stepping on my mat.

Even a joke that I would normally laugh at (about us being a swarm) in locust pose fell on deaf ears. Hoping to take things in stride, again, sometime in the near future...

Just read this article in the New York Times about the benefits of swimming vs. other activities. The crux of the article for me: It seems to stimulate appetite according Dr. Tanaka who is the director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory. Therefore, ergo, watch out for post-swimming hunger if you're trying to maintain or lose weight.

Another Day, Another Wound

Saw a new BodyGo Row evening class at CrossFit. The description said that it was rowing mixed with kettlebells and lunges. Perhaps a kinder and gentler way to get back into CrossFit...

Had my eyes on BodyGo Row for days and finally signed up for the class this morning. I was nervous as all get out on the way there. It was a small group so that made me feel better until the board was explained.

Five... three minute intervals:

15 Kettlebell Swings (25 lbs)
5 Toes to Bar
5 Shoot-Throughs

After finishing with the KBs, T2Bs and Push-Throughs, the remainder of the time in each interval was spent rowing.

Thanks to the woman who let me have the higher situations for the Push-Throughs because it made the maneuver easier...

At some point in the program, Laurie (instructor) saw that I was struggling and suggested that I go from kettlebell swings to rowing. It wasn't like I was getting my toes to the bar anyway. As I was working on the intervals, I thought "My God, I need to get in shape just to do CrossFit," a shocking thought when you feel like you're in shape.

After the interval series, we did The Farmer's Walk around the building. I had a 30 pound kettlebell in each hand and I kinda like The Farmer's Walk. We had to hop up on the deck to get back in and that's when my leg hit a bolt. I knew it was there but I was so intent on hopping on the deck that I got beside myself.

Deck Souvenir
After my first attempt, Laurie was like It's like getting out of the pool then You can go through the door. I was like no thanks but I thought hell naw. Did she think a bolt to the leg would deter me? I hopped up on the deck, picked up my kettlebells, strapped my feet in and started rowing again.

I asked the woman that was in class how long she's been doing CrossFit. She's been at it for two months and goes about five times a week. Maybe it really is in the brain.

At one point, we noted our calorie burn for one interval. I burned 36 calories and, as Laurie said, That was a lot of work for 36 calories. And the guy next to me said: Yeah, like six M and M's.

Six Word Memoir

I read about the Six Word Memoir project at The New York Times. Here's my six worder for the day:





Transformed Saved my life by losing weight.







What's your six word memoir?

Filling The Well

Bought

One of my colleagues was headed to Target and, for some reason, I thought about washable markers and The Artist's Way.

Filling the well involves the active pursuit of images to refresh our artistic reservoirs.

I don't even know if this quote was the one I had in mind. Maybe it was something about pleasing your inner child.

No matter, I had fun.



I was headed to the climbing gym and was inspired to write mental tenacity on my arm after seeing this article, How to Push Past the Pain as the Champions Do?

Done

Self-Reiki Treatment


While I'm not sure how much it helped as I was doing the treatment at 2:00 a.m. when I crossed that line between sleepiness and peppiness, some of the Reiki holds did feel refreshing.

Watched

Discovered gem while watching Acupressure Massage -- where to treat heat in the body; the point is on the colon meridian at the crease in the elbow.


Recently, I've been hit with waves of heat in the upper body. Stress? You decide.


FYI, if you were going out to lunch and wanted to suppress your appetite, you could use Pericardium Six which is two fingers up from the wrist crease in the center.


I also like this point which is a master acupressure point.



Someone may need to take my markers and pens away...


Have you bought, done or watched anything interesting lately? How are you filling the well?

Your Abs Should Be Talking To You

Sometimes I like to do a gut check or, in this case, let's call it a back-to-back date with Kate.

I went to Cardio and Muscle class on Tuesday and Kate wore me out as usual.

There are times when I imagine myself as a delicate flower or something and somewhere, in my brain, I negotiate this situation where I'm not able to do back-to-back hardcore exercise.

As I was walking around earlier, I was checking my body. Yeah, I had a hard workout yesterday and other than a little tenderness in the leg region, there was nothing to prevent me from going to Drills To Make You Sweat.

Does anyone else get tired (and hungry) right before exercise? I'm trying to figure out how I'm so fatigued at the end of the day when I've been practically sitting on my behind for the most part. That's when I just tell myself to suck it up because, surely, if I've been sitting down for the bulk of the day, I should have no problem putting my backfield in motion.

I delivered myself to Kate and she wore me out again. We went through this whole sequence with legs and when we came out of squats, lateral runs etc., she wanted us to do fast feet. My legs felt like rubber and I made some animalistic sound and the girl in front me went Yeah, she doesn't stop.

When we were on the floor for abs, we had one leg raised to meet an arm. Kate said: your abs should be talking to you and, indeed, they were quite loquacious.

Is your body talking to you?

How do you convince yourself to exercise and gut it out?

Did you see this article, Stand Up While You Read This!, in The New York Times about how sitting all day is one of the worst things that you can do to your body?

To borrow Bob Marley's lingo, are you rocking your workouts and are you keeping your fitness dates? As Kate would say, don't stop -- do the lower modification when you can't go all out.

For Pizza, For Cheesecake

Nice article, What the Last Meal Taught Him, in the New York Times about reconciliation and loving kindness. Thomas Keller is a chef whose father left the family when he was five years old. I don't know how many people would be able to connect with a parent after such an act. One needs to look no further than another article in the NYT, When Parents Are Too Toxic to Tolerate, to know that some peace accords are never agreed upon.

Kim Severson's article on the Kellers got me to thinking about food memories. For goodness' sake, I used to bake tea cake cookies for my teachers.

No doubt, my reflection was enhanced by a never ending quest to get organized. I found a folder full of directions since I seldom throw away things that I feel can be reused.

I found directions to so many restaurants, including:

Bristol Bar & Grill, 1108 Olive Street Rd.

House of India, 8501 Delmar Blvd.

Frank and Helen's Pizzeria, 8111 Olive Blvd.

I also found a brochure for the annual Labor Day Greek Festival that I trekked to with friends specifically for the purpose of getting baklava, spanakopita and kourabiedes.

And one of my most memorable meals happened four years ago at the periphery of Weldon Springs Clark Trail. A group of about eight of us went hiking with the intent of doing the 5.3 mile trail but we ended up going so much further. We were unanimously famished upon emerging from the woods which made us collapse on the parking lot and pounce on a collective bounty of sandwiches, Skittles and chips. I remember how sparse conversation was but we ate well. Plus, there was a sense of accomplishment and gratitude.

I also detected this gem in my folder.


These are directions from Newark to Brooklyn where delicious pizza (from some defunct stand) and cheesecake from Junior's Cheesecake could be had. I was determined to get the goods even if I had to navigate the NYC subway system. I had no problem finding my way because my friend, Martene, had written perfect directions plus a 1-800 number to call her -- just in case I got lost.

I hope that everyone has access to good friends and good food -- frequently and at the same time.

The Same Pounds Twice

I keep thinking about Alice Walker's book The Same River Twice in which she discusses The Color Purple controversy.

While I don't have a controversy, I do seem to have pounds that I lose and regain again. I'm up two and, while I'm not fretting, I would like to see the scale move south.

It appears that New York's mayor has weight issues as well. Mayor Doesn’t Always Live by His Health Rules was entertaining. I'm fascinated by people with huge appetites who eat what they want to eat. That's called living vicariously, I suppose.



Here's my favorite line from the article:

HE dumps salt on almost everything, even saltine crackers.

It seems like we all have our trigger seasonings.

Snacking

Hungry Girl was featured on Nightline last night. Lisa Lillien i.e. Hungry Girl talked about finding acceptable food in the middle of the store for those people who don't eat as many fruits and vegetables and who are not going to give up processed snack foods. I definitely related since I like to snack on crackers and cookies. I probably have about 40 items in my snack box right now.

I know that I can eat better and that I can incorporate more unprocessed foods in my diet but, sometimes, bell peppers and such just don't cut it.

This article Big Food vs. Big Insurance from The New York Times hit some truthful notes.

Here's an excerpt:

Even the most efficient health care system that the administration could hope to devise would still confront a rising tide of chronic disease linked to diet.

I'm not sure where Michael Pollan got his numbers from but he says that the U.S. spends 147 million to handle obesity. Whoa, that's a lot of money and illness.

The Last One To Leave

I know why I go to the gym immediately after work. Since The Wreck Center has changed its open swim times, I decided to go to afternoon swim at Mehlville's pool.

I came home, got out of my work clothes, ate dinner and threw a load of clothes in the washer. I was rather relaxed and felt like I had already done something and I certainly wasn't feeling like exercising at the point but I pushed on. I got in my gear and headed for the pool.

Apparently, quite a few people had the same idea. When I got to Mehlville at 7:30 p.m., at least 25 other people were there as well. I ended up sharing a lane with two people. Then, a father wanted to show his son how to dive off of the platform in our lane. The lifeguard finally told him that he could not do that while people were swimming laps. I was the first one in my lane and I was the last one to leave because, you know, a girl likes to get in her laps. With the sharing and diving etc., I only got in 18 laps but I was satisfied considering the circumstances.

I saw this article in the New York Times. I really did not want to read it but felt like I should be informed.

In Some Swimming Pools, a Nasty Intestinal Parasite

Caloric Ramifications

Swimming absolutely wore me out today. I can barely hold my head up and I only swam a mere 14 laps. The water was very choppy because the lifeguard was body slamming the kiddos who were jumping all on his back.

Episode 10 of The Amazing Race, which aired on Sunday, had a detour where the contestants had to choose synchronized diving or a 400 meter swim. Jen almost completely unraveled and I was hoping that she would not be eliminated so deep in the race because of her lack of swimming skills. Tammy, who's on another team, also did a good job. She took swimming lessons before The Amazing Race started. I was the only adult who had to stick my face in the water and learn how to breathe, Tammy said.

Not Gonna Get It

I've seen quite a few recipes for black bean burgers and I finally decided to try one.

Black Bean Tostada Burgers

My burgers did not look like the ones in Shape magazine and they seemed a bit dry but they didn't taste bad. I didn't make the pico de gallo nor did I use corn tortillas or avocado. I had my own sides in mind.

The New York Times had an article on a fascinating twitterer who publishes 140 character recipes.

Take 1 Recipe, Mince, Reduce, Serve

Seeing that I'm hung up on nutrition facts, it would make me very nervous to make a recipe without knowing the caloric ramifications.